


Another Sign

by jedipati



Series: Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Battle, Canon-Typical Violence, Dark Obi-Wan Kenobi, Gen, Lightsabers, The Dark Side of the Force (Star Wars), Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:26:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26935075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jedipati/pseuds/jedipati
Summary: Obi-Wan and his men battle some rebels.  Obi-Wan gets extremely angry, which has a lasting effect on his lightsaber.  A Custos short story.
Series: Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/440809
Comments: 15
Kudos: 80





	Another Sign

**Author's Note:**

> I don't think this quite merits the "graphic description of violence" tag, but if someone disagrees, just let me know and I'll fix that.

Obi-Wan Kenobi ducked behind a pillar as the fight continued. He scowled out at the mass of incoming fire, too much even for his skills with a lightsaber.

These Rebels were surprisingly well organized and equipped, and Obi-Wan wanted to know who was funding them, and why. The Empire was not what Sidious would have made of it. It was far better with Padmé as the Empress.

Perhaps Obi-Wan could have tried to understand this group’s complaints, but they were, in addition to fighting, using Jedi imagery, including a derivative of the Jedi Order’s symbol. That only made Obi-Wan angry, because the Jedi might have been good once, but there was nothing good about what was left of the Order, and it shouldn’t be remembered, not anymore.

Once, the Order was a great organization, but no longer. Once, the Order had been an organization Obi-Wan had been proud to be a part of, but after the fall of the Republic, the Order itself had fallen, and many of the survivors had chosen not to follow the principles they’d been taught. There was nothing honorable about the people still calling themselves Jedi now.

Obi-Wan knew his eyes were probably bright yellow right now, but he was furious. His men were outnumbered, and he couldn’t protect them right now, and all in the name of a group that was worse than the Empire. These rebels had no right to try to harm that which was his!

He leaned out and almost immediately he had to duck back. They knew where he was, and they were focusing on him. “Cody, I need reinforcements to my location. We’re pinned down,” he commed. 

“Right away, General,” Cody responded. 

Obi-Wan smiled faintly, but the smile faded as he heard the sound of blaster bolts hitting flesh- not armor. He risked another look, and saw two of his men- Gears and Strip- caught in the open, and the rebels firing so many times they had destroyed the armor, and they weren’t stopping even as his men’s limbs were disintegrating under the barrage.

One of his men screamed, and Obi-Wan felt something within him snap. 

He ignited his lightsaber without even thinking, and jumped up and over the barrier. They were torturing his men, not even aiming for their chests! Even as he flew through the air, his hand came up and the first line of the rebels went flying back like nine-pins hit by the ball. He landed in front of his men, his lightsaber already moving, deflecting every shot. He felt more than heard a scream from somewhere- it wasn’t one of his men. And then he heard the reinforcements arrive. Good.

He didn’t take the time to stop, not now. He started moving forward, the rebels falling one by one to their own blaster shots. He heard his men start to surround them. The scream sounded again, but he knew in the way that told him the Force was speaking to him, that it wasn’t one of his men, nor one of the rebels. It wasn’t an issue right now. It was unlikely to become an issue.

He jumped forward again, and landed in the midst of the rebel lines. Two rebels were dead before they realized he was there, and four more before they could react.

He battled forward, his lightsaber a bright blue… a bright blur around him. No shot hit him, nothing came close. His men were somewhere behind him, finishing up any rebels he missed. He didn’t miss many.

He felt the scream again, and this time he knew where it came from. He smiled coldly, as he found the Rebel commander- a Bothan. The man was firing, the men around him were firing, but not a single blaster bolt could touch him.

None of them were good enough to touch him. He took out two guards, and held his hand up. A second later, all the blasters flew out of the remaining rebels’ hands. He made a fist and the blasters all crumpled into balls, unusable. 

“You are beaten,” Obi-Wan said coldly. “And you have a choice. You tell me who is funding you now, or I bring you back and our Emperor will make you tell.”

“Never!” The rebel said. In the corner of his mind, Obi-Wan knew what the rebel planned. 

He sprung forward, and speared the detonator the rebel pulled out. Obi-Wan spun and, that scream in his ears again, speared another rebel- this one a Bith- without thought. “I have a dozen of your people captured, Commander,” Obi-Wan said.

He pulled the lightsaber back and it was red. He didn’t even think about it, just placed the saber under the leader’s chin. “I can keep doing this. And then there’s yourself. I’ll keep you in a cell until we get back to Coruscant, and then… well, Anakin always was inventive when he wanted to be.

He knew what he had to look like, his eyes bright yellow, his lightsaber a brilliant red, not a injury on him, but covered in the grime of a battlefield. And then he smiled. “And I’m always willing to try new things.”

The Bothan raised his hands in surrender. Obi-Wan allowed his smile to widen, and he gestured for his men to come forward.

Two of his men- he could feel their own fear- approached and started cuffing the rebels. The rest of the battle was winding down, the rebels trying to escape or surrendering. Obi-Wan eyed some of the runners and gestured and a half dozen of the rebels fell. He pulled his hand toward himself, and the rebels were dragged backward.

He chuckled at their screams, and turned to Cody. Cody flinched back, then recovered. “We have the battlefield, General,” he reported. “The rebels are fleeing, and those that can’t are being arrested as we speak.”

Obi-Wan smirked. “Yes, indeed, Commander,” he said. “Now then. The Bothan is their commander, and no doubt knows who is funding them. See to it that he remains unharmed.”

“Yes, General. If I may… You are…”

“Oh, I know, Cody,” Obi-Wan said. He smiled. “They brought it on themselves.”

He could feel the fear in the air around him. Not just the rebels. Though his men knew he’d never harm them, they still feared him. The fear itself was almost intoxicating, and slowly, his anger faded. As it did, he shut down his lightsaber, and rolled his shoulders. “I think I’ll accompany the prisoners to the _Imperator_ ,” he said. “And make sure they don’t try anything.”

“Yes sir!” Cody said. “Ah… your eyes?”

“It will fade, Commander,” Obi-Wan dismissed. “How are Gears and Strip?”

Cody shook his head. “Nothing we can do for them,” he reported.

Obi-Wan turned to glare at the Bothan at hearing that. He wasn’t surprised, but he was angry. “Commander, make sure I don’t kill the rebel on the trip back,” he ordered. “I’m angry enough to do it, but we need his information.”

“Yes sir!”

Obi-Wan headed for the transports. His men could finish up here, he would make sure the prisoners made it to their cells.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Several hours later, Obi-Wan contemplated his lightsaber hilt. It felt… different. He’d seen the red, when in the last few minutes of the fight, and in principle, he knew what that meant.

But he wasn’t sure if he wanted to check. He had Fallen, and there was no return from that, and he wouldn’t want to return. The lightsaber was just another bit of proof.

He rolled the hilt around. He could feel the crystal inside it, crying and screaming. And, perhaps, once he would have mourned the feeling, he didn’t feel it this time. It felt good. It felt like his lightsaber fit again. Before, it was just too much a reminder of the Jedi Order. Now, it felt like it belonged to him again.

He stood up and ignited it. The brilliant red that met his eyes made him smile. He’d only used a red lightsaber once before, that time he had had to use Ventress’, but this felt so much better. Before, he’d been cringing at the crystal’s screams but now…

The screams only made him smile. The crystal was perfect now, as Dark as he was.

He turned his lightsaber off and clipped it on his belt. He took a moment to duck into the refresher, but his eyes were back to their normal blue. He’d finally calmed down enough for that.

He headed out into the ship. They were heading back to Coruscant, but there were always things the commanding general needed to do. But in the back of his mind, he couldn’t help but look forward to returning to his family.

His lightsaber was another sign that he would never again be the weak Jedi he had been.

He couldn’t wait to show Anakin.

**Author's Note:**

> I’m not too sure if I buy the whole “bleeding crystals” thing in the New EU, but you have to admit, it makes for a great little one shot. 
> 
> Also, Obi-Wan goes on a rampage, that’s always fun!


End file.
